An IRC (or International Reply Coupon) is a voucher obtainable from the post office to prepay the return postage of an item from abroad.

IRCs work in just the same way that stamps would if you were sending an SASE to a celeb in your own country.

Obviously, when you write to a celeb in another country, there is no point sending your SASE with your own country's stamps on, as they would not be accepted by their postal system on the return journey.

That is when you need to purchase IRCs. Prices very from country to country, and not all post offices sell them, so you might have to shop-around a bit.

On average if you are expecting anything up to a 10x8 back you need to include at least 2 IRCs. Anything bigger, and you will need more.

Your IRCs should be put inside your SAE, or paperclipped to the front of it (so the celeb sees them!) They can then redeem them at their local post office for the cost of postage.

The websites to different countries and their respective postal offices are in this post. Check the site out to see if you can purchase stamps from the country. It is another alternative to purchasing IRC's.

Note: Stamps without denomination (printed value) can be used for international mail. The value of such stamps is linked to either a current or a former domestic postage price (e.g., the “Lady Liberty and U.S. Flag” stamp has a postage value of 39 cents). The postage value of the Forever Stamp, is always the domestic First-Class Mail single-piece 1-ounce letter price that is in effect on the day of use (affix more postage when neccesarry). Source: http://pe.usps.com/text/imm/immc1_020.htm, 152.2 Stamps, c)

United Kingdom - Mainland, Scotland, Wales and Northern Irelandhttp://shop.royalmail.com/products/stam ... at/cat220/(International Shipping Available)Note: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland all have the same stamps. Stamps pre-decimalization (before 1971) can no longer be used.First and second class stamps can be used for international mail, they will count as their current value if no other denomination is on the stamp (confirmed by Royal Mail Service).

United Kingdom - Isle of ManPrice Guide: http://www.gov.im/post/postal/guide.xmlIsle of Man does use different stamps than mainland UK. Stamps purchased in the Channel Islands and Isle of Man cannot be used in UK, nor can UK postage stamps be used in the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man.

In addition: German IRCs can only be ordered online through the given link. German post offices don't sell them anymore!Note: current stamp currency is Euro, "DM" currency stamps can no longer be used.

GreeceNote: current stamp currency is Euro, previous currency stamps can no longer be used.